The International Criminal Court poses a growing threat to the American political and legal system, Marco Rubio said Monday. The Secretary of State accused the ICC and its allies of waging “war against our country not with bullets and missiles, but with statutes, treaties and the force of what we call ‘international law.’
Washington is preparing a diplomatic campaign aimed at isolating the jurisdiction established in The Hague. The State Department is considering imposing a travel ban, revoking visas, and increasing sanctions against the ICC and its affiliates.
“We will be at the mercy of foreign judges”
The United States also wants to persuade countries party to the Rome Statute to withdraw from the Court and stop funding it. According to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, “no diplomatic option has been ruled out in this campaign to address the threat posed by the ICC against Americans.”
Marco Rubio believes that inaction could lead to prosecution of American officials abroad. “If we sit idly by, we will all be at the mercy of foreign judges thousands of miles away,” he said. Several ICC judges, including the attorney general, are already subject to US sanctions that restrict their travel and some transactions.
Actions following ICC investigations
The measures are largely in response to ICC investigations into Israel, a Washington ally. In particular, in 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The three sanctioned judges filed a complaint in New York in June against Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent, denouncing “extrajudicial pressure.”
Our file on the United States
Created in 2002, the ICC prosecutes people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, nor is Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin has been under arrest warrant since March 2023.